Page 611 - Magistrates Conference 2019

MODEL GUIDELINES FOR SEXUAL OFFENCE CASES IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION

those acting on behalf of cultural, religious, or state institutions.
Intimate Partner: Includes current or former spouses (legal and common law), non-marital partners (boyfriend,
girlfriend, same-sex partner, dating partner). Intimate partners may or may not be cohabitating and the
relationship need not involve sexual activities.

Perpetrator: Person, group, or institution that directly inflicts or otherwise supports or enables violence or
other abuse inflicted on another against her/his will.

Re-victimization: This can also be called ‘re-traumatization’, or ‘secondary victimisation’, and occurs where a
complainant in a sexual offence endures additional trauma by reliving an event by the process of reporting it.
Sexual Assault: Sexual assault is non-consensual touching of a sexual nature that violates the sexual integrity
of the complainant.
Sexual Abuse: Includes sexual contact of any kind that is coerced by force or threat, and the commission of
or an attempt to commit any sexual offence.
Sexual Offences: Sexual offences against the person encompass conduct ranging from unwanted sexual
touching to sexual violence which results in serious physical injury, and can include sexual interference,
invitation to sexual touching, sexual exploitation, incest, offences in relation to child prostitution, sexual
assault, sexual assault with a weapon, and aggravated sexual assault.
Special Measures: Menu of options available to the court as set out in law to facilitate the provision of evidence
to the court from a vulnerable witness.
Survivor: A person who has experienced gender-based violence or other such abuse. The reason for using
this term is that in preference to the word ‘victim’, the word ‘survivor’ implies that such persons can take back
control of their own lives and be resilient in the face of the trauma and immense obstacles that they may have
experienced.

Trafficking in Persons: A crime arising from the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt
of persons by means of threats, force, coercion, abduction, deception, abuse of power, abuse of position
of vulnerability, giving or receipt of payments by a person having control over another for the purpose of
exploitation. Where the exploitation is for a sexual purpose, the crime is prosecuted as a sex offence and may
be referred to as sex trafficking.
Vulnerable Witnesses: Vulnerable witnesses include witnesses whose quality of evidence given in criminal
proceedings is likely to be diminished by reason of an impairment they possess connected to their age, a
physical or intellectual disability, or to an adverse or traumatic experience that they have suffered, which may
include the offence they report.

1.1 CONTEXT AND SCOPE OF GUIDELINES
The guidelines are intended to provide guidance to magistrates’ courts, high courts and supreme courts in
adjudicating sexual offences. The overall aim is to ensure that re-victimization to survivors is minimized as
they receive support services to facilitate them being able to give the best quality evidence to the court while
ensuring adequate safeguards for the rights of defendants.

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